Chasing Dreams
Book One: Going Down Characters: Smokepaw: Fluffy gray tom with blue eyes Myra: White she-cat with blue eyes Crow: Black and white tom Rat: Brown tom Shrew: Gray she-cat with black paws Olive: Tortoiseshell she-cat Scorch: black tom Prolouge The gray tom was standing on a ledge, looking down into a yawning abyss. "High, isn't it?" He whirled around to see a huge black and white tom standing behind him, smirking. "Blackstar!" The young tom flung himself at the larger cat, but the white tom flashed out a paw. It struck the gray tom across the chest, and he went skidding across the ledge. "Father!" The young cat cried as his hind paws slipped over the edge. "What are you doing? It's me, Smokepaw!" The white tom ignored him and strode forward. He reached out one huge black paw, unsheathed his claws, and planted it on the gray tom's paws. He yelped in agony and slipped his paw out from under the black one, forcing himself to grip the ledge only with one paw. The bigger tom snickered and stepped hard on the other gray paw. The young tom groaned and jerked his paw free - only to be sent plummeting into the gorge. Chapter One Smokepaw was awoken by a sharp paw jab in his side. He groaned and rolled over, blinking his eyes open to see the bright eyes of Olive above him. "Come on. Mama says if you're gonna follow the scent trail home, you better do it now. It's getting ready to rain." Smokepaw groaned again but nodded and struggled to his paws, swaying a bit. He'd hardly got any sleep, and now he had to travel over the mountains and find his new home. He shook his head, hoping to clear some of the grogginess away, but the lethargic fog stayed veiled around his head. "Is there anything to eat?" He asked, hoping it didn't sound too slurred. "Yeah, Crow and Rat brought down a decent sized eagle just outside the cave with some leftover rabbit. The poor thing had been reduced to a scavenger." Smokepaw staggered unsteadily to the small cave in the corner where the mountain loners stored food. There was a large eagle there, still warm, only missing a small piece. He gratefully tore off a chunk and settled down on the cool, smooth rock to dig in. He'd only just swiped the last drops of juice from his lips when Crow trotted up. "Let's go. I'll escort you to the main trail, but then you're on your own." Smokepaw sighed as Myra's kits bounded up to say goodbye. "I'll miss your scary eagle games!" Shrew wailed as she flung herself at Smokepaw's legs. He laid his muzzle on her small gray head as he stroked Olive's trembling flank with his tail. "I'll miss you!" The tiny tortoiseshell howled. He pulled away from the small she-cats to face their brother, Scorch. "Bye," The black tom mewed gruffly. Ignoring his temper, Smokepaw strode forward to lick his ear. "Bye." He padded to over to Myra and Rat, where they were sharing a piece of eagle together. "So long, forest cat," Rat murmured, flicking Smokepaw's ear. "Come on, Smokepaw!" Crow sounded impatient. "It'll start raining soon!" Smokepaw nodded and padded to the black and white tom's side. Crow nodded and whisked out of the cave. Smokepaw took one last look at the cave - his place on sanctuary in the unforgiving mountains - and turned his back on it forever. Chapter Two Smokepaw followed Crow to the opposite side of the gorge. The black adn white tom stared intently at a boulder, then leaped up on top of it. "Hurry up," The mountain cat scoffed as Smokepaw scrambled up slowly to stand beside him. "If we continue at this pace we'll never get out of the mountains before the rain." Smokepaw bit his lip to keep from snarling back a reply and climbed up the next few boulders, huffing. The two toms rested on Hunters' Ledge at sunhigh to hunt, rest, then set out again. The sun was going down when they made it to the main trail; there was a huge gap a few tail-lengths away where Smokepaw had fallen a few days ago. "This is where I fell," Smokepaw called to Crow. The black and white tom nodded. "That means we're on the right trail. I can smell cats. Is this the scent?" Smokepaw sniffed along the boulders and sighed; ShadowClan, RiverClan, WindClan, and ThunderClan cat scents were mixed in a powerful scent. He looked up at Crow and nodded. "I'll be home soon," Smokepaw murmured as they began walking again. When it was nearly dark, Smokepaw felt something fall on his nose. He looked up just as rain began pouring down. "Crow!" He howled. "What are we going to do?!" The black and white tom was staring up at the clouds with malace in his gaze. "We should just keep going. This is the only trail." Smokepaw followed Crow, head down and shoulders brace against the winds. Crow's tail brushed his nose, guiding him. Smokepaw heard Crow gasp, then groan. "What?" Smokepaw shouted over the wind, raising his head. He stopped dead in his tracks, suddenly feeling cold. Here, the trail forked into two seperate trails. "No!" Smokepaw sniffed the rock desperatley, but all Clan scent had been washed away. The gray tom hung his head, a yowl rising in his throat. He forced it down, only a harsh choking noise escaping him, and raised his head. "N-now what?" He croaked, rain stinging his eyes. Crow was staring at the fork in the trail, his jaws slightly open as he gazed helplessly at the rock. "Crow!" The toms head snapped up. "We need to find shelter," The mountain cat murmured, his voice nearly drowned out by a clap of thunder. "Over here." The black and white tom led the way to an overhanging rock, which formed a sort of cave. Smokepaw scooted after him, laying his head on his paws and watching the rain bounce off the path. They're gone, Smokepaw thought to himself. I'll never find them now. He burried his nose under his paws, waiting for sleep to take over him, but it wouldn't come. Memories of being a Clan cat kept interupting. When the storm finally died away, he rose to his paws. Crow was asleep, curled into a black and white heap on the stone floor. The gray apprentice sighed miserably and padded away, in the direction of the cave. Smokepaw had his head bowed, tail dragging, and felt the ground slope under his paws. He raised his head to see the gaping hole where he'd fallen a few days ago right in front of him. He retraced his steps back to the path that led down into the gorge, and felt the skin of his pads tear with every step. He stopped at Hunters' Ledge, but found nothing to eat. He continued on dejectedly, belly moaning sadly. "Smokepaw?" He hadn't realized he'd reached the bottom of the gorge until he heard Rat's voice. The gray tom looked up and sighed. "Yeah," He mumbled, sitting down on the hard, wet rock. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going back to your Clan!" Smokepaw bowed his head. "The rain washed away the scent. I can't find a single trace. They're gone." The brown mountain cats laid his tail sympathetically on the younger cats' shoulder. "Maybe they'll come back this way, looking for you," Rat tried to sound hopeful, but Smokepaw knew how slim the chances of that happening were. "They think I'm dead," Smokepaw hissed bitterly. "They think I died when I fell off that stupid cliff. I should be dead. Better than all this pain." He padded past the brown tom into the split in the rock, where the seven cats kept their den. "Smokepaw?" The vocie was Myra's. "I thought you left!" "I can't go back to my Clan!" The gray tom snapped, tired of explaining. "Ok, well...where's Crow?" Chapter Three Smokepaw stared guiltily as Olive, Shrew and Scorch stared at him with different expressions on their faces. Olive's was filled with happiness that Smokepaw was back. Shrew's was filled with confusion; she didn't understand why Smokepaw had to come back. And Scorch's was filled with anger. "I can't believe you left Crow alone in the mountains," He growled, amber eyes blazing. "What if he thinks you went down one of the trails to look for your Clan? He could follow it and get lost. We don't know those trails very well at all. He could die out there." Smokepaw gave an uncomfortable wriggle as Olive turned wide green eyes on her brother. "What?" She squeaked, but Scorch waved his tail, ignoring the question. Smokepaw turned his gaze to Myra. The white she-cat was pacing outside the enterance to the cave, her anxiety obvious in the tall spiking of her fur. Her eyes were filled with worry as she searched the top of the gorge for her mate, Rat, who'd gone after Crow to try to bring him home. Smokepaw hadn't yet been fed, though he felt like he was getting thinner by the moment. "Myra, have you...hunted for the kits yet?" Smokepaw called. It was obvious they were hungry, too; Shrew was twitching in that way she did, Scorch was downright grumpy, and Olive was looking lethargic. Myra glanced up sharply. "I want to stay. What if Rat and Crow come back while I'm gone?" "Then they'll run into you on Hunters Ledge. They need to eat, Myra." The white cat sighed but nodded, heading for the base of the trail. "Watch the kits, please, Smokepaw. Don't let them leave the cave." Smokepaw nodded, but Myra was already gone, leaping up the boulders like a rabbit. Smokepaw turned to the kits. "Do you want to play a game?" "I'm too hungry for Eagle Attack," Shrew murmured warily. Smokepaw laughed and shook his head. "We can play Clans. We can each all be the leader of a Clan, and you can lead hunting patrols, order cats around, and lead attacks on the other Clans." Before long, each kit was in opposite corners of the cave, defending their "camps" as the others organized battle patrols on the other. Olive was Olivestar, leader of ThunderClan. Shrew was Shrewstar, leader of RiverClan, and Scorch was Scorchstar, leader of WindClan. And, naturally, Smokepaw was Smokestar, leader of ShadowClan. Each kit was huddled behind heaps of rocks. Smokestar beckoned for Shrewstar and Olivestar to creep into his "camp" and together they all creeped absolutely silently to Scorchstar's camp. Smokestar beckoned, then let out a battle cry and the three leaped over the rocks and landed on the unsuspecting Scorchstar. He yowled in surprise, but he was already smothered. "Smokepaw." He untangled himself from the kits and met Myra's terrified gaze. Rat, and Rat alone, stood by her side. Smokepaw gasped. "Where's Crow, Rat?" He tried to keep the hysteria out of her voice. "I couldn't find him. He's gone, Smokepaw, and I don't know where he is." Chapter Four Coming soon! Category:Fan Fictions